Chapter Sixteen
Legacy pulled into Calli’s driveway on another dreary day. Dreary because Adin had left to go to his dad’s house. At least he’d be back tomorrow, and early enough this time that they’d made plans to go out when he returned. But she was going to use part of this time away from him to be productive…well, help Calli be productive.
They had a summer English assignment—a paper on Hamlet—so of course Calli had waited until they only had a few weeks left of summer before she started on it. Adin helped Legacy with hers last month, so she was already finished. She’d found a copy of Kenneth Branagh’s movie version of the play and brought it with her to Calli’s house. At least they could watch the movie and follow along in the book.
Once she was inside, she got down to business. She put in the movie, and Calli popped some popcorn. They sat quietly while they both watched, and Calli followed along with the play. When it was finally over, she got out her laptop, and they started on her paper. Legacy couldn’t remember the last time she had so little fun spending the day with Calli. The movie was great, but no one liked homework during summer break.
“How are things with you and Zach?” she asked as Calli saved the final version of her paper.
“So far, so good.”
“Do you want to double when Adin gets back? We can go see the new movie that comes out next week.”
“Ah, that sounds like fun. I’ll talk to Zach about it.”
“I talked to Adin about River,” she said timidly, now that the dreaded homework was finished.
“Really? What did he say?”
“Nothing I didn’t really expect. He doesn’t trust River, but he understands why I talk to him. He wants me to come to him, though, if I ever need to talk. He thinks River has an agenda.”
“Is that what you think?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Does it matter if he does? I mean, he is helping you.”
“I know. And I’ve told River how I feel about Adin. I don’t want to lead him on—even if he is helping me.”
“Hopefully, Adin understands that.”
“I think he does. Actually, he helped me too. I told him about the latest entry in my dream catalog, and he was the one who pointed out the reality.”
“What’s new in your dreams?” she asked as she printed out her paper.
“My hands are different temperatures. One is hot and the other is cold. Adin told me my hands are always like that. I asked when he noticed, and he said he did the night of my party. He couldn’t tell me if my hands were like that before that night since he was trying to control his feelings back then. But that night seems to be when all this craziness started.”
“Well, I’ve known you for years, too, but I haven’t been trying not to touch you,” she said, laughing. “I’ve never noticed your hands like that before. In fact, the first time I did notice it was when we were at the mall, and you said it was because of your iced latte.”
“Yeah, I remember.” Interesting.
“What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know, Calli. But I think it means something. Maybe it’s part of the changes I’m going through.”
“That’s what I think too. Are you going to talk to River about it?”
“No. He knows too much already.”
She decided to stay the night at Calli’s house since spending time with Calli was better than sulking about Adin at home in her bedroom.
After a day of work, it was fun spending the evening doing girly stuff. They did makeovers, painted toenails, and talked about their boyfriends.
Before they turned in for the night, Calli had to feed the dogs, so Legacy went outside with her. Once they were outside, they noticed the gate had not shut completely when Legacy pulled in, and one of the dogs was missing. They grabbed some flashlights and started walking down the road.
“Spike,” Calli called out. “I hope we find him before I have to go wake up my parents.”
As they passed River’s house, Legacy glanced over there in search of the dog. Great. He was outside, and he had to have heard them and seen the lights flashing. Just what she needed, River to see her in her pajamas. Not. He walked over to them.
“What are you two doing out here in the dark?”
“We’re looking for one of my dogs,” Calli said.
“Have you checked with security? Maybe someone saw him and called.”
They were in a gated community with security, so surely the dog hadn’t gone far.
“No. I didn’t think about that.”
“I’ll keep looking while you go call,” Legacy told her.
“Okay,” Calli said, and ran back to her house.
Legacy kept walking down the street, but she could hear River walking behind her. She so didn’t want to deal with him right now. She barely had any clothes on. She turned around and glared at him. “What?” she asked, flashing the light in his face.
He raised his hand to block the light. “I’m helping you look for the dog.”
“I can manage,” she said as she shifted the light away from his face.
“I know you can, but two pairs of eyes are better than one.”
“Well, the second pair will be back out right after she calls security,” she said, putting her hand on her hip.
River stood there staring at her. “I don’t want you out here alone,” he muttered.
“We’re in a gated community. What can happen to me here?”
“Did you forget my mom lives right there?” He pointed to his house.
Crap. “I guess you have a point. I’ll go wait at Calli’s house.”
“No, I can walk with you.”
He wasn’t getting the hint, so she’d just have to come out and say it. “I don’t want you walking with me.”
He walked up closer to her. “Why?”
“Because it’s late. I’m tired. I’m in my pajamas, and it’s not appropriate.”
“Calli has seen you in your pajamas. Think of me as a friend like she is.” He smiled.
“But I haven’t known you as long as I’ve known her.”
River knew she had him with that, so he was more direct. “I’m not letting you out of my sight until you are safely back indoors.”
Ugh! “Hmph.” Stupid Prophecy. She turned and walked away from him. “Spike! Come here, boy!”
She stomped down the street with her stalker in tow. She could tell he was still right behind her. She wanted to turn around and give him a piece of her mind, but she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to keep calm.
They walked down to the next street where a new estate was being built. She walked around the shell of the house, swinging her flashlight in every direction. Her foot caught some of the construction debris and she tripped. River grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. She looked at his face, and he was watching the ground, making sure she had her footing before letting her go.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, concerned.
“No, I’m fine. Thanks.”
Even though he let go of her arm, he was still standing right up against her. She thought he was going to step back, but he didn’t. She looked at his face again, and his eyes were shut. She stepped away from him, and he opened them.
“Sorry,” he whispered, but he was breathing heavily.
She didn’t say anything. She just turned and walked to the side of the house where the woods were. She flashed the light in the trees and called the dog again. She didn’t hear anything, but she thought she saw movement. She couldn’t be sure. It was dark, and she was moving a light around. Her eyes could have very easily been playing tricks on her.
She started to step into the trees, but River grabbed her arm. She looked back at him.
“Don’t go in there.”
“Why?”
“Please, Legacy. I don’t want you to get hurt.” He looked at her with a wistful expression, but she couldn’t understand it. She wasn’t sure if he was just worried about the w
oods, or if there was a deeper meaning in his expression. “Look out!” he yelled, and pulled her to the side.
She saw a rustling on the ground and jumped anyway. Eeek! It was a rattlesnake! She started to move. She had to get away before it struck out.
“Don’t,” River whispered, halting her escape. He reached over, picked up a piece of scrap lumber, and crushed the snake. “Let’s go.” He grabbed her by the arm, and they walked quickly down the street and back toward the house. They saw Calli walking toward them.
“Where have you been?” she asked her as she got closer.
“I was out looking for the dog.”
“I got him already. Security had him.”
“Oh. Good. Okay.” She looked at River’s face, then looked at his hand that was still locked tightly around her arm. He dropped it.
“I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” she said as she walked away from him.
“Sweet dreams,” he murmured.
There was nothing sweet about her dreams that night. She guessed her encounter with a real snake wasn’t enough; she’d dreamed about them all night. When she finally woke up, she was relieved to be back in reality. Even better, Adin would be back today.
She got dressed and headed to work. Calli stayed in bed. Ahh, the life of a debutante.
River was already there when she arrived. She guessed he was all giddy from seeing her unexpectedly last night that he rushed up here to see her as soon as possible. Stupid prophecy.
“Good morning,” she said as she walked in the door.
“Good morning,” River responded, but he didn’t sound as cheerful as she thought he’d be. Maybe he’d taken last night for what it had actually been and didn’t obsess about it all night. That’d be a big relief.
“Where’s everybody at?” she asked as she walked to the back to put up her purse. She didn’t have to turn around to see if he was following her. She knew.
“Yale called in and my mom stayed home. We have family visiting from out of town.”
Nice…it would just be the two of them then.
“Hopefully, it won’t be too busy,” she said as she locked up her purse and headed back out the door.
It was slow all day, but she stayed in front by the register just in case anyone came in. River spent most of the morning in the back, but came out at lunch time.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Don’t worry about it. I can go get something.”
“Don’t be silly. My mom buys us all lunch all the time.”
“I don’t care. Whatever you want is fine with me.”
“How about we just order a pizza?”
“That sounds good.”
He walked over to where she was standing and gently stroked her arm. “What kind do you want?”
She stepped to the side so that he couldn’t reach her. The touch felt too intimate for just friends. “Pepperoni’s fine.”
River smiled as he called and ordered the pizza. “It’ll be here in thirty minutes,” he said once he got off the phone.
She shrugged, but he didn’t go back to work. Maybe she needed to be verbal about it. “Okay,” she said with her eyebrows raised.
But he kept standing there, staring at her. She stared right back. Then he moved back over to her and stroked her arm again. “Why did you step away from me?” he asked softly.
“Because I didn’t want you touching me.” She shoved her shoulder in an attempt to knock off his hand, but he kept it there.
“Is it because you like me touching you and you don’t know how to deal with that?”
“Er, no. What gave you that crazy idea?”
“Just a hunch.”
“You’re wrong.”
He stepped to the side again, so now, he was standing right in front of her. She took a step back and realized she was backed up against a wall. He put his other hand on her other arm.
“I think you do like me. More than you’re willing to admit.”
Why was she in the pits of hell?
“Look, River, I don’t want to hurt your feelings.” She tried being nice, but as she spoke, he took another step. Now he was uncomfortably close. “You’re right,” she whispered, and River’s eyes popped open. “I do like you. But I don’t feel about you the way I feel about Adin.”
He flinched at that acknowledgement. “You will love me. One day.”
“Not this day, and not ever if I have anything to do about it.”
“Well, I’m tired of sitting by and watching you grow closer to Adin. You’re supposed to be growing closer to me,” he whispered.
He asked for it. “I love the way Adin makes me feel. The way he talks to me, holds me, hugs me, kisses me. There’s nothing in the world that can top that.”
River dropped his arms and huffed angrily. “I can’t do this anymore. I tried being your friend like you wanted, but I’m done. I want to be with you. From here on out, I’m going to be pursuing you like any other man would do in this situation.”
So Adin was right about River.
“Right, because there are so many men out there pinning their hopes on a prophecy!”
“Touchy much?” He smirked and stepped right up against her, their bodies touching. “I think you’re putting up a fight because you’re afraid of the temptation.”
“You have completely lost your mind.” She put her hands on his chest and shoved him back. “I don’t want to be with you. I want Adin!”
“There’s nothing wrong with giving him a little competition. He’s going to mess up, and I’ll be the one you’ll turn to.”
“No.” She shook her head and glared at him.
“Legacy, you will be mine. I’m going to be the one who’ll be there for you in the end.”
“No! You’re going to be nothing to me. You are nothing!”
“Baby, I’m everything. I’m everywhere. You can’t stop me. You have no choice.”
She slumped back on the wall and threw her hand up over her mouth. She shook her head, staring at him in disbelief. His words had been in her dream. The one where she stood under the tornado, daring it to come for her. She wanted it to come. She needed it to come. She yelled no up to the sky like she just did to River, and the words that River just spoke were the words from that female voice.
The sudden change in her expression softened his stance. Now, he looked concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She stepped aside, intending to walk away from him, but she found herself running for the restroom.
She burst through the door and ran to the sink. She splashed water on her face, hoping the cold water would make her numb. It didn’t. She could clearly feel one hot hand and one cold hand on her cheeks. There was no escaping her reality.
Why was this happening to her? Everything had to fit together. With each new experience, she was more certain about that. But if everything kept making sense, then how did this prophecy fit in? She truly felt like she belonged to Adin. She wasn’t just telling herself this. She felt it with every fiber of her being.
But River felt the exact same way about her. She couldn’t be mad at him when she thought of the pain that caused him. Because if she couldn’t be with Adin, she knew she would be hurting too.
River knocked on the bathroom door. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t want to talk to him. She felt sorry for him, but that didn’t excuse his behavior. If he was going to be actively pursuing her, she would have to be on her guard. This was the first time she was actually looking forward to school starting and this job ending.
“Legacy?”
“I’ll be out in a minute.”
She took a few deep breaths and wiped the water from her face. Then she walked out of the restroom. River was standing right there.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say all that.”
“Apology accepted,” she said as she stepped around him and walked back to the register.
River followed her. “I’m not saying what I said w
asn’t true,” he muttered. “But I shouldn’t have been a dick about it.”
“I understand,” she said, looking down, fidgeting with some papers.
“I think about you all the time,” he breathed. “I just don’t know how to do this anymore. I can’t sit by and watch you fall in love with him.”
She looked up at River, and he was looking at his feet. “I get it.” And she did. He wanted her, and he was through pretending that he didn’t.
He looked up and met her gaze. “You don’t know what I’ve been going through. When I saw you unexpectedly last night, it made my day. Just seeing you. But when you tripped, and I caught you…with you so close…” He sighed, shutting his eyes. “You have no idea.”
“I said I understand, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to change my mind.”
He opened his eyes. “I know how you feel, which is why I’ve tried to be a good friend to you. I wish I could continue being that friend. But that’s not who I am. I’ll still be there for you, and I’ll still help you whenever you need it. But I just can’t deny my feelings anymore. I know that’s what you want, and it’s killing me that I can’t do that for you.”
“I know you can’t change your feelings, but neither can I. I really don’t want you to be hurting, but I can’t be what you want.”
This was such a mess. River’s confession just added to her list of crapola she had to deal with. His longing looks spoke volumes. He wasn’t hiding his feelings anymore because he wasn’t pretending anymore, and it would make working with him brutal.
By the gods, if she got through this with her sanity intact, it’d be a friggin’ miracle.